Rabbi Rob Cabelli, a chaplain at Grinnell College, describes Esther as a comedy. So why, to save all the Jews from perishing, couldn’t Mordecai bow down just a little? But as one rabbi I spoke with pointed out, in the Torah, Jews bow down to humans many times. His refusal is often explained as displaying loyalty to Jewish law. Even Mordecai, Esther’s relative and adopted father, doesn’t come off looking that great, endangering the entire Jewish community because he refuses to bow down to Haman. Haman, the villain in the story, is given a place of honor in the kingdom for no apparent reason and is so furious at the merest slight that he decides to kill every Jewish man, woman and child. The king of the Persian Empire, the greatest empire the world had ever known, according to the book of Esther, is an ineffectual pompous buffoon, surrounded by a cadre of advisors who pander to his ego. The book of Esther does not shine a favorable light on men. At one point, Esther steps out of the pages of scripture and argues for herself, demanding that the rabbis, “commemorate me for future generations.” They resist, she insists-challenging their authority and winning-securing her place in the canon. In the Talmudic writings, the Rabbis argue about whether their canon should include Esther. Martin Luther wrote: “I am so great an enemy to…Esther that I wish it had not come to us at all.” Luther (whose anti-Judaic diatribes have been repudiated by the church) felt it had too much “Judaizing” and too much “pagan naughtiness.” John Calvin didn’t include Esther in his biblical commentaries. Christianity was virtually silent about the book for 800 years. It could also be because they were humorless ascetics. Did you know that Esther is the only book from the Hebrew Bible not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls? Some people conjecture this is because the community at Qumran would have looked down on her for marrying a Persian. Where did this racy tale about an unorthodox woman hero come from? I was drawn to her because the men in charge kept trying to exclude her. Biblical girl power could help us to think more creatively about the intersections of Islam, Judaism and Christianity-and discover new ways forward that include wisdom, strength and vulnerability.Īmid a canon where most VIPs are men, the book of Esther is a surprise. Today, when our world is so divided, when stereotypes and religious differences often lead to violence, I think we could use a little of that biblical girl power. Where biblical men build walls, it seems to me that biblical women keep finding ways over, under and around them. Through the stories of these women, who God is and what faith is like look a little different. Biblical women move and live in places and ways that are a little outside the firm foundations and the strict boundaries of divided traditions. Over 25 years of preaching, I’ve come to believe that when we look at the Bible through the lens of the women within its pages, things shift. Though the three Abrahamic religions so often follow the guiding visions of the fathers, the women take us different places. All these women seem to walk out of the pages of Scripture and insist on being known. But Esther becomes a Jewish heroine who is celebrated across the globe every year at her festival, Purim. She isn’t the sort of woman religious traditions have typically held up as an example of feminine virtue. Then there’s Esther, who doesn’t live like an observant Jew. Mary is revered by Muslims and Christians and the entirely unorthodox. Mary is often portrayed as submissive and unassuming, but the mother of God gives birth to so much unorthodox imagination-showing up in various guises all over the world and inspiring devotion across every barrier. Hagar gets her start in Abraham’s Hebrew clan and goes on to become the matriarch of Islam, where her story continues. Women aren’t often placed in the forefront of the Abrahamic faiths, but these three women refuse to be overlooked. No wonder I didn’t hear or learn much about Esther in my stern and proper Sunday school.īut it was Esther (along with Hagar and Mary the Mother of Jesus) that inspired me to write my most recent book, Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarch of the Bible. After reading her story at Bible study, Lily, a young writer from my congregation, said in an alarmed, but admiring way, “Esther must have been the world’s greatest lover.” Esther saves her people from a homicidal narcissist because she gains entry into the king’s private chamber and “pleases” him so immensely that he vows to give her anything she wants. If you’re looking for a woman role model to include in the children’s Sunday school curriculum, Esther may not be the best choice. While I love the VeggieTales version of the book of Esther, this biblical woman’s story is more R-rated comedy than child-appropriate.
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